Fleet Management

New Hampshire Eliminates Connecticut River Toll

Truckers crossing the Connecticut River between Springfield, VT. and Charlestown, NH won't have to pay toll anymore, beginning this summer. New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen signed into law Friday the abolition of the toll over the Cheshire Bridge - the only one over the Connecticut River between the Granite and the Green Mountain states. The 35-cent toll for cars and $1.80 toll for trucks will be lifted July 1. Community-development officials have long said the toll has hurt business, particularly business that involves trucking. They also argue it was not fair to area residents. An estimated 3,000 commuters cross the bridge each day. State transportation officials wanted to continue the toll to pay off the cost of buying the decaying bridge from a railroad company in 1991.About $779,000 in tolls gathered from bridge-crossing commuters since that time will go into a highway department fund. Toll opponents, which include many state lawmakers, said any cost should be paid for from highway funds, as other projects are.